24 STAG-HUNTING RECOLLECTIONS 



years old when he ascended the throne of his ancestors, as 

 he called it in his first speech to Parliament— too old to learn 

 a new language and new hunting ways. He never went out 

 if the weather was bad, hardly realised the Buckhounds, and 

 threw them and the Master of the Horse department into 

 commission and the greedy hands of the Duchess of Kendal. 

 An instance of the German complexion which pervaded every- 

 thing at Windsor occurs in a picture at Windsor of George I. 

 out hunting in the Great Park with his suite, by Gohrde. 

 The names of the fom'teen or fifteen personages are all given 

 on the tablet. With two exceptions they are all German. 

 Even one of these exceptions is Germanised, the huntsman 

 being handed down to posterity as ' Ned Finsch.' In fine 

 weather, however, the King went sporting occasionally. In 

 September, 1717, we hear of his diverting himself with hunt- 

 ing in Bushey Park. After which, ahghting from horseback, 

 his Majesty walked above three miles with a fowling-piece 

 in his hand, and killed several brace of partridges flj'ing. 

 During the summer of 1724 a stud of nice horses was got 

 together and sent to Windsor for the King's stag-hunt- 

 ing, but there is no account of his ever using them. He 

 w^ent out pheasant-shooting in August of the same year, 

 earlier than even the writers of the first of October leading 

 articles begin their pheasant-shooting. From eight in the 

 morning till nearly five that day he only shot tw^o and a 

 half brace, and one and a half brace of partridges. But, 

 besides the gratitude we owe to George I. for the passive 

 respect he paid a free government and a free people, we 

 must, with the picture of the Queen's Jubilee Procession 

 fresh upon our minds' eye, ever be grateful to him for 

 bringing over the cream-coloured horses and their scarlet 

 housings of velvet and morocco.' 



' For very many years past the cream -colours have all been bred at Hampton 

 Court. The only new blood that has been obtained — at all recently— was in 1(S!)3, 



